Kovacs nearing elite company in career tackles
According to the Michigan football twitter feed,
Elite Company: Jordan Kovacs needs 4 tackles against Purdue to become only the 15th player in Michigan history to record 300 career tackles.
The leaders (from the Michigan Football Statistic Archive):
- Jarrett Irons (1993-1996): 296 solo, 133 assisted
- Erick Anderson (1988-1991): 286 , 104
- Sam Sword (1995-1998): 265 , 105
- Ron Simpkins (1976-1979): 262, 153
- Steve Morrison (1990-1994): 220, 95
- Mike Boren (1980-1983): 212, 120
- Mike Mallory (1982-1985): 211, 110
- Paul Girgash (1979-1982): 206, 146
- Victor Hobson (1999-2002): 205, 72
- Calvin O'Neal (1974-1976): 180, 145
Kovacs is currently 15 with 171 solo, 125 assisted.
October 1st, 2012 at 12:53 PM ^
he's a great player, and this is NOT meant at all as a crtiticism of Kovacs but...
IMHO NCAA career and season marks and records need to be taken with a grain of salt. With the 12 (13? 14?) games that players play each year now they have more football to get those records. Bowl games didn't count statiscially, and now with the 12 game season, conf champ games, and bowl games, players today play in up to 27% more games each year than they used to from a statistical standpoint. That said, Kovacs is a great player, and his milestone should be lauded. I just think more players will join him soon, and that some of the previous milestone numbers will be watered down (think the 500 HR club in baseball. Used to be tough, now lots of guys do it).
October 1st, 2012 at 12:54 PM ^
For example, comparing Drew Brees to Johnny Unitas isn't a smart comparison. Unitas' consecutive game with a passing TD is extraordinary, Brees is just extremely consistent. It's a different game.
October 1st, 2012 at 12:57 PM ^
Most college careers were only 3 years. Looking at the list, only 1 man played in the 70s (another had 1 year in 79). The game has changed a lot recently and it's changed a lot more the farther back you go. I'd be interested in how many snaps-per-game there are now compared to the previous few decades. Might be more plays and therefore more opportunities for tackles now compared to earlier, what with all the no-huddle hurry ups etc.
October 1st, 2012 at 12:58 PM ^
One could add that Kovacs played on some lousy defenses, too; if those units had been better he would have been in the enviable position of congratulating a linebacker teammate for making the tackle, depressing his numbers.
On the other hand, Kovacs has only played in two post-season games in his career. And you'll notice that there's nobody on that list since Victor Hobson.
The main thing, though, is that Kovacs has been a great thing for Michigan, a bright spot during some dark years, especially for the defense, and he deserves all the recognition for it.
October 1st, 2012 at 1:00 PM ^
Kovacs eclipsing 300 tackles isn't the kind of BIG thing that pisses me off, the guy chasing Barry Sanders' TD record did though. Because his record didn't count his 5 bowl game TDs etc. etc.
October 1st, 2012 at 2:58 PM ^
Your post got me curious, so I went back and counted the games played versus the tackles made. Here's what it showed -
| GAMES | TACKLES | SOLO | ASST | AVG | |
| JARRETT IRONS | 49 | 429 | 296 | 133 | 8.8 |
| ERICK ANDERSON | 44 | 390 | 286 | 104 | 8.9 |
| SAM SWORD | 46 | 370 | 265 | 105 | 8.0 |
| RON SIMPKINS | 42 | 415 | 262 | 153 | 9.9 |
| STEVE MORRISON | 39 | 315 | 220 | 95 | 8.1 |
| JORDAN KOVACS | 41 | 296 | 171 | 125 | 7.2 |
My conclusions -
- Ron Simpkins was a tackling machine, averaged almost 10 tackles per game (!)
- If Kovacs keeps to his average, he will add almost 60 more tackles this year, however he is averaging more tackles this year than his career average. Expect at least 70+
October 1st, 2012 at 6:34 PM ^
Another thing to consider is the prevalence of no huddle and hurry up offenses as of lately. If you were to account for the number of plays in each game, it might favor older players even more.
October 1st, 2012 at 6:48 PM ^
Teams that regularly run hurry-up will run more total plays than the national average, because not as much time is going off the clock between plays. That could offset the time lost from the clock changes. It'd be interesting to find out if a team like Oregon is running about as many plays as teams did under the old clock rules.
October 5th, 2012 at 11:37 AM ^
As an unscientific survey:
College football box scores are hard to come by once you start going back even 20 years. However, the Bentley Historical Library has box scores for all Michigan Bowl games. Since we're really only concerned with the number of plays in games back through the 70s (before then, tackle statistics weren't kept consistently, and things like 10-game seasons and freshman ineligibility also skewed things significantly), here are the number of plays in every Michigan bowl game since 1970:
1970 Rose: 155
1972 Rose: 152
1976 Orange: 142
1977 Rose: 132
1978 Rose: 147
1979 Rose: 125
1979 Gator: 147
1981 Rose: 149
1981 Bluebonnet: 129
1983 Rose: 144
1984 Sugar: 129
1984 Holiday: 140
1986 Fiesta: 140
1987 Rose: 133
1988 HOF: 130
1989 Rose: 133
1990 Rose: 130
1991 Gator: 152
1992 Rose: 146
1993 Rose: 140
1994 HOF: 141
1994 Holiday: 135
1995 Alamo: 128
1997 Outback: 132
1998 Rose: 134
1999 Citrus: 128
2000 Orange: 127
2001 Citrus: 135
2002 Citrus: 142
2003 Outback: 159
2004 Rose: 144
2005 Rose: 143
2005 Alamo: 153
2007 Rose: 136
2008 Capital 1: 152
2011 Gator: 149
2012 Sugar: 128
The verdict: in this small sample, there has been no significant difference in the number of plays per game. For instance, since 2000, there have been an average of 143 plays per bowl game, whereas from 1970-79 there were an average of... 143 plays per bowl game. In fact, modern players might be at a disadvantage, since there are more passing plays per game, and hence more incomplete passes, which are plays on which a tackle is not recorded. Of course, modern players enjoy 13-game seasons, so there are a lot of competing factors. But as far as the number of plays per game, MYTH: BUSTED.
October 1st, 2012 at 3:05 PM ^
This is true, but conversely, there aren't as many plays in a typical game as there were in the past, because of changes to the play clock a couple years ago. The play clock used to be 25 seconds and started when the referee gave the ready signal, but now it's 40 seconds and starts immediately following the end of the previous play. Teams that milk the clock are burning around 10-12 more seconds in between plays, which really adds up over the course of a game.
You really notice this if you watch a game from about a decade ago. I watched the 1999 PSU game a few weeks ago and was struck by how many possessions each team had in just the first quarter.
October 1st, 2012 at 12:50 PM ^
October 1st, 2012 at 12:59 PM ^
If I'm not mistaken, all those guys on the list ahead of him are LBs.
October 1st, 2012 at 1:15 PM ^
Of the players ahead of Kovacs, I think Garland Rivers (who is #14, right ahead of Kovacs actually) is the only other defensive back. I think Curtis Greer was a defensive end as well. Beyond that, all of them are linebackers.
This means Kovacs will easily become the most prolific defensive back in Michigan history this season (he needs one tackle to tie Rivers), which is a great cap on what is a great story.
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:18 PM ^
October 1st, 2012 at 1:16 PM ^
...LBs. However:
11. Curtis Greer (DT)
12. Andy Cannavino (LB)
13. Mark Messner (DT)
14. Garland Rivers (DB)
15. Jordan Kovacs (DB)
Kovacs does trail Rivers by only one tackle, so barring catastrophe, he will become Michigan's all time leading DB tackler against Purdue.
October 1st, 2012 at 1:07 PM ^
About mid July my wife, our 8 year old and me were sitting in the General Store at Middle Bass Island (across the channel from Put-in-Bay) wearing Michigan gear. A random guy walks up, asks us if we're fans of Michigan and when my wife points at me and says "he graduated from there" he asks if we like Jordan Kovacs. When we answer with an emphatic "YES" he says he's Jordan's uncle and would we like an autographed picture. I give him our address and not two weeks later an 8x10 glossy shows up with an autographed picture of Kovacs laying out the WMU QB with "Best wishes to Tommy from Jordan....GO BLUE!" written in silver sharpie across the bottom.
The man and his family are #1 in my book and trust me, he's got a fan for life now with my son Tommy.
October 1st, 2012 at 1:34 PM ^
October 1st, 2012 at 1:13 PM ^
number of games played or any other reason people can think of to diminish this accomplishmen, walk-on to Michigan record book is pretty impressive
October 1st, 2012 at 1:17 PM ^
but I didn't realize it at the time... I got to watch 3 of the top 5 during my 4 years of college(Irons, Anderson and Morrison).
October 1st, 2012 at 2:18 PM ^
were awesome.
October 1st, 2012 at 2:28 PM ^
Met and talked to Irons in Dallas. Guy looks like he definitely could still suit up.
October 1st, 2012 at 1:22 PM ^
the tradition of every single announcer mentioning at least half a dozen times per game how he's a former walkon. We know, we all know, so please stop saying it. Kovacs has cemented his place as one of the best defensive players in UM history, period, and rightfully so. He is a great player who will be sorely missed.
With his great mind for the game, if he doesn't make it in the pros, I can see him as a coach, and I'd love to see him back in the maize and blue in the future as the secondary coach.
October 1st, 2012 at 1:50 PM ^
If you don't by now know that Kovacs is a former walk-on, then you probably wouldn't understand that concept anyway. You might be my cat.
October 1st, 2012 at 1:34 PM ^
I look forward to the day when color commentators stop giving Kovacs backhanded compliments every time he makes a play. But I'm not holding my breath.
October 1st, 2012 at 2:30 PM ^
He's got a legit shot to crack the top 5 this season...
October 1st, 2012 at 2:37 PM ^
you still can't buy his jersey, at least not anyplace I've been.
October 1st, 2012 at 2:51 PM ^
October 1st, 2012 at 3:37 PM ^
Your point about his tackle total being inflated by the bad defenses is true, but he's a really good player regardless. The job of a safety isn't just to defend against the pass. Time and again, when our opponent has an outside running play, look who is assigned to cover that area. Kovacs has 22 career TFLs, which is a ton for a DB. He deserves the credit he gets.
October 1st, 2012 at 3:14 PM ^
Just to show that it is not impossible for a safety to be in the top ten for pass breakups and/or interceptions, among the top ten all-time at Michigan for pass breakups is Marlin Jackson (tied for 4th, per the stats archive), and the all-time leader interceptions at Michigan is Tom Curtis (per the stats archive), who I believe played QB his freshman year but was converted to safety.
October 1st, 2012 at 3:16 PM ^
Marlin Jackson played corner three of his four years.
October 1st, 2012 at 3:34 PM ^
Virtually everyone on the PBU list in the stats archive is, of course - I had misremembered on Jackson. My fail.
Jamar Adams is in a three-way tie for tenth on the list with Markus Curry and Ty Law. There are a few safeties deeper in the list as well.
October 1st, 2012 at 3:15 PM ^
So props to this kid for making the best of his situation but get off his nuts, he's kind of had some things fall into his lap, literally and figurativelyYeah, it's totally easy to go through two knee surgeries, rehab on your own (not with the S&C coach), try out the following spring, make the team and then start a couple games into your redshirt freshman season.
October 1st, 2012 at 3:48 PM ^
...despite the fact that the defensive coordinator didn't even know your name when he first called your number.
October 2nd, 2012 at 6:26 AM ^
October 1st, 2012 at 3:32 PM ^
"There is a reason there are no other DBs on the top ten list, because we had good defenses back then and LBs were making the plays they were supposed to make. Jordan having 300 tackles is an indication of how poorly our DL and LB corps have played throughout his tenure..."
I don't disagree with this, but if anything it emphasizes Kovacs' importance rather than diminish it. Would love to know how many times in his career it was Kovacs or TD. Safety = last line = moar pressure. Nice try but you kinda made our point too.
October 1st, 2012 at 3:46 PM ^
So props to this kid for making the best of his situation but get off his nuts, he's kind of had some things fall into his lap, literally and figuratively.
Every great player's rise to stardom can be traced to a stroke of good luck somewhere along the way. Luck isn't what separates great players from mediocre players, it's the work they put in off the field and the way they take advantage of the opportunities that come along. Also, it was our secondary that was the weakest aspect of our defense for most of Kovacs' career, not the front seven. And the cupboard wasn't always bare; it was once stocked with blue-chip recruits who ended up not realizing their potential (Boubacar Cissoko, Justin Turner, Vladimir Emilien, etc). The fact that Kovacs was able to emerge as a rock amidst the tire fire that was the rest of our secondary is supremely impressive.
October 1st, 2012 at 3:58 PM ^
good job, dad
October 1st, 2012 at 4:59 PM ^
October 1st, 2012 at 6:24 PM ^
If only we had more Kovacs on the team. The kid is a true inspiration and defines what a Michigan Man is all about. Wish there was a way to give him an extra year of eligibility.
October 1st, 2012 at 10:12 PM ^
count what. That is fast company. Good for Kovacs. In fact, I hope he racks up a lot more tackles this year.
October 2nd, 2012 at 11:31 AM ^
Congrats to Kouvacs. As others noted the total tackle numbers might be artificially inflated or depressed depending on which school you subscribe to (bad defenses+more games vs. less offensive plays on average), but regardless it is amazing that a walk-on kid will go down as one of the best safeties in UM history.